The New York congresswoman, who is without a doubt the most popular figure among the party’s liberal leftists, was moved to a 90s second speech in which she defeated Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ name proposed for the Democratic nomination. It was a purely symbolic attempt, because everyone – including AOC and Sanders – knew that former Vice President Joe Biden had more than enough delegates to be the party’s nominee.
And while it was no surprise (we knew days ago that Ocasio-Cortez spoke for a very short time), it was a bit shocking to see just how tuned to the sideline she was.
She is loved by liberals, remembered by conservatives and strongly warned by the founding of the Democratic Party in Washington.
And it is that last group that, I think, made a very short-sighted calculation when they ran out of speaking time – and days – and moved one of the brightest stars of the party to a decidedly un-glamorous time and job.
On his face, that logic makes sense. Conventions have been – since they began – about rewarding your friends and punishing your political enemies. To the conquerors go the spoil, and all.
But even while I fully understand why the Biden Convention gave the AOC speech the treatment they did, I still think it was a big slip-up – and a fundamental misunderstanding of where the power lies. ‘ the party moves.
Ocasio-Cortez, whether you like her or not, is already a major center of power with the Democratic Party. A 30-year-old Latina with an unapologetic liberal view of the world, she is the face of the emerging Democratic Party – someone who is less masculine, more diverse and less moderate than the one who represents Biden.
To put them effectively in the corner when handing over time to the likes of former Republican Colin Powell as Democratic senior statesmen like Bill Clinton, John Kerry and Chuck Schumer (who all had more speaking time on Tuesday than AOC) seems to be a big misreading of where matters currently stand among Democrats.
(Sidebar: Yes, I know that Biden beat Sanders, the Liberal champion, for the Democratic nomination of 2020. But Sanders is demographically equal to Biden, and a less effective and powerful messenger for liberal causes than Ocasio-Cortez.)
It would have been bad for Democrats to play the long game, then, with Ocasio-Cortez at the party convention this week. Since whatever they do, she is likely to be a major operator in future high-profile fights within the Party.
Instead, they play the very short game, refusing them a platform that approaches the space they occupy in the party. They may come to that decision.
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